Navtech upgrades Witness

Navtech Radar showcased their Advanceguard PIDS airport solution with a brand new version of the sophisticated Witness software at the Security Essen show in Germany earlier this week.

Business Development Manager Jason Burger at Navtech Radar said, “Preventative security measures are crucial for passenger safety and confidence as stipulated by the ICAO and EU (300/2008 and 2320/2002) regulations. Uninterrupted running of airport operations is imperative, as unlawful interference culminating in a security breach, can result in huge operating losses due to the evacuation process and/or temporary closure of an airport. Commercial Airports typically have very large perimeters many in excess of 15km, which are expensive and difficult to secure, especially in adverse weather conditions.

Navtech Radar’s frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) 76GHz technology is ideally suited to the challenge. The robust design of the radars, coupled with the ability to operate 24 /7 in all light and weather conditions, even in dense fog, make Advanceguard the preferred technology for the challenges faced by airport operations and security services. With low installation and ongoing maintenance cost, the overall cost of ownership is very competitive compared to traditional fence detection systems. Navtech’s radar surveillance technology can deliver further cost-saving by re-addressing the balance between technology and manned security guarding. With 360° radius detection offering a range of up to 1000 metres man detection, Navtech’s radar systems are the perfect solution for perimeter and critical security restricted area (CSRA) surveillance. Multiple overlapping radar sensors can be networked to offer site wide security coverage, controlled and monitored via a single PC running Navtech Radar’s sophisticated physical security information management (PSIM) software – Witness.”

With more than 16 European airports currently using Advanceguard and 3 more on order and under installation, Navtech Radar will be using the Essen show to showcase the new version of Witness. Witness manages all system functions; from analysing movement to creating target ‘tracks’ and controlling cameras to follow them, to handling the complex algorithms in the security rule engine which analyses target behaviour, assigns threat levels and allow security staff to define alarm zones and the rules that trigger them. Witness includes Sentinel, the intuitive on-screen security interface. Sentinel allows users to draw – or revise – alarm zones and their associated rules. At the simplest level, it can replace physical barriers using ‘virtual fences, or access points’ which alarm, when objects enter them, travel in the wrong direction within them , or pass through, out of hours. The new version of Witness was completed earlier this year, and has already been implemented at Ostrava Airport. However, the Essen show is the first time the new Witness Software has been showcased to a wider security audience.